Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair says the findings in a new study that suggests some officers in the Jane Street and Finch Avenue area are ignoring the board’s revised carding policy are based on a "long history of tension" rather than facts.
The study, conducted by non-profit group LogicalOutcome, was presented to the Toronto Police Services Board Thursday. It found that of the 404 people who participated in the survey, 137 of them reported being stopped and documented – or "carded" – by police in the past. Sixty-two of those said they were carded since June.
These findings suggest "widespread non-compliance" with police carding rules, executive director of LogicalOutcome Neil Price says in the report. He adds that there is a climate of mistrust between residents in the area and officers.
The study, however, is being questioned by Toronto's top cop. Blair told reporters Thursday that while he does not question the "lived experiences" of those surveyed in the study, he is "somewhat suspect" of the methodology that was used.
"What this report fails to acknowledge is some of the extraordinary work that that the men and women of 31 Division and that community are doing in partnership to make it a safer place," Blair said.
"This report has suggested certain things, and reached certain conclusions that I think may be based upon a long history of tension that existed with the community going back to the 80s, and it is not an accurate reflection of what is happening today."
In April, a new policy was adopted that requires officers to have a valid public safety reason for carding an individual. They are also not permitted to prolong encounters with individuals to obtain additional information in order to justify formal questioning.
Blair says that since the introduction of the new rules, officers from 31 Division have only carded 83 people between June 1 and Aug. 31.
His comments about the study come after Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) chair Alok Mukherjee told the Toronto Star that the findings in the report are "extremely disturbing and problematic," and represents a "crisis in confidence."
Mukherjee's remarks were later criticized by the Toronto Police Service Senior Officers' Organization. In a statement released Thursday night, the group said that he was "jumping to conclusions."
"He has not given this report the critical assessment it so rightly deserves….His comments should be based on all the facts, not his initial reaction to a survey with questionable methodology," the group says.
The TPSB will meet on Nov. 26 for a special meeting to discuss the report.
